LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A Democratic state legislator is running for a Republican-held U.S. House seat in east Arkansas, a spokesman for the state party said Tuesday.
State Rep. Monte Hodges planned Wednesday to formally launch his bid for the 1st Congressional District with an eight-day tour, state party spokesman Jacob Kauffman said. Hodges filed paperwork earlier this week with the Federal Election Commission to run for the seat.
Hodges is the first Democrat to announce a bid for the seat, which Republican Rep. Rick Crawford has held since 2011. Crawford is being challenged in the May GOP primary by state Rep. Brandt Smith.
Hodges, a former Blytheville city councilman, has served in the Arkansas House since 2013. No Democrat ran against Crawford for the 1st District seat in 2020. Republicans hold all four of the state’s U.S. House seats.
